Dresden, Beer City on the Elbe

Florence on the Elbe. A jewel box of baroque and rococo architecture. Onetime capital of Saxon dukes, electors, and kings. A skyline of spires and domes. And the city where Schiller composed his Ode to Joy. With its pleasant location on the Elbe and numerous renowned museums to complement its majestic architecture, Dresden is among Europe’s most striking cities.

A Brief History

Founded in 1206, Dresden became capital of the Saxon dukes in 1485, and of the Saxon electors in 1547. The city witnessed a cultural golden age during the eighteenth-century reign of Duke Augustus der Starke (August the Strong) and his son Augustus III. Both of these rulers invited architects and artists to Dresden from all over Europe, including Bernardo Bellotto (Canaletto). Most of Dresden’s baroque landmarks were built during this period, including the opulent Zwinger palace, the elegant Frauenkirche, the Taschenbergpalais, and the Hofkirche (court church).

It all came crashing down between 13 February and 15 February 1945 when the British and American air forces dropped thousands of incendiary bombs on the city, a harrowing event recounted by Kurt Vonnegut in his novel, Slaughterhouse Five (1969). East German officials left the Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady) in its ruined state as a “memorial against war.” After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the city decided to rebuild its iconic landmark. Restoration of the Frauenkirche was completed in 2005, one year before Dresden’s 800^th anniversary.

Dresden and Its Beer Scene

Beer’s probably not the main reason you’d want to visit a city like Dresden. Yes, they drink beer here — plenty of it! — but the beer scene is nothing like the tradition of Bamberg or Munich, or the effervescence of Berlin or Hamburg.

Beer-wise, it’s Radeberger territory.[1] Radeberger is everywhere in Dresden. Even still, a handful of smaller local and regional breweries and taprooms have managed to flourish despite the long shadow cast by the Radeberger group. You’ll find some interesting beers, breweries, taprooms, and beer gardens if you know where to look. If you don’t know where to look yet, read on.

The Lay of the Land for Beer Travelers

Central Dresden’s two main districts are the Altstadt south of the Elbe and the Neustadt across the majestic Augustus Bridge to the north. The Altstadt is home to the glittering sights of this one-time ducal and royal capital, but the Neustadt, Dresden’s livelier, grittier side, is where the imbibing action is. Rothenburgerstrasse, one of the main thoroughfares in Neustadt, is a classic old-school European street lined with antique shops, funky cafes, a range of eateries, and plenty of drinking establishments. The streets that run parallel and perpendicular to Rothenburgerstrasse are all colourful, and all are populated by colourful characters. Dresden’s modest craft beer scene is also nestled in these streets.

Dresden’s Breweries, Beer Gardens, Wirtshäuser, and Taprooms

Ball- und Brauhaus Watzke

A few days earlier I had walked past the Watzke am Goldenen Reiter, a taproom fronted by an angular concrete gallery wrapped around a building of recent vintage. The magnificent view across the Augustbrücke to the Altstadt was like a painting, but the taproom vibe wasn’t drawing me in. I did notice something on the sign, though: Ausschank (roughly translated as tap or brewery outlet). Where there’s an Ausschank, there’s a brewery somewhere. I asked one of the serving staff, who mentioned that there was indeed a Watzke brewery to the west of the city.

And so there I was on a tram out to Dresden’s west end. The late nineteenth-century building housing Watzke is striking enough, but it’s the priceless view from the beer garden that stopped me in my tracks. The gentle sweep of the Elbe limned with rolling green hills, the silhouette of Dresden’s steeples, domes, and bridges in the distance — it’s not often that you find such a diamond of a beer garden outside of Bavaria.

The Watzke brewery and ballroom is in the Altpieschen district, a onetime fishing village settled by the Sorbian ethnic minority. Karl Joseph Watzke opened his Watzke’s Garten-Restaurant in 1838, and his grandson enlarged the establishment fifty years later with a new ballroom, restaurant, and concert venue. Business boomed throughout the nineteenth century, and the establishment weathered the wars of the twentieth. But it was forced to shutter in the postwar period due to competition from the state-run eateries of East Germany.

Watzke received a new lease on life in 1996, this time with an added bonus: a brewery. Today, the downstairs is a brewpub in the German “Hausbrauerei” (brewpub) style of the 1980s and 1990s, with copper kettles featuring prominently in the tavern. And there’s still a ballroom dancefloor upstairs.

All of Watzke’s beers are unfiltered, which gives them a subtly yeasty bouquet and a roundness on the palate. The Altpieschner Spezial is a pleasantly quaffable export-strength beer. The seasonal Rauchbierbock is intensely aromatic and balanced on the palate, with a smoke accent that falls on smoked meat and air-dried ham. The superb Pils is floral and peppery, with that snappy quality the Germans call “herb” (bitter with a slight astringency). Clean and refreshing, and a fine counterpoint to the region’s mass-produced Pilsners.

Zapfanstalt

Located on Görlitzer Strasse in the vibrant Neustadt district, Zapfanstalt is Dresden’s top address for local and regional beers, both traditional and craft. Twenty taps and a hundred bottlings cover most of the world’s major styles and regions. Red-cushioned stools wrap around a central bar of this cozy taproom, and restrained contemporary light fixtures cast a subdued light on wall-papered walls.

All the beers I drank here were tasty, but two bear particular mention: the Rauchbier from Frenzel-Bräu in nearby Bautzen, and the IPA from Brauerei Zwönitz near Chemnitz.

Frenzel’s superb Rauchbier Naturtrüb would give any Franconian Rauchbier a run for its money. Aroma-wise, it’s like Bamberg’s Spezial in terms of intensity. Smoked meat and Bündnerfleisch meet licorice, Schwarzbrot (dark bread), gingerbread, and a hint of dark caramel. Flavours feature cola layered over restrained smoked meat, sweet BBQ char, dark bread, and notes of dark caramel. Wonderfully drinkable.

Zwönitzer India Pale Ale is my kind of IPA: judiciously hopped yet intensely flavourful. Tropical fruit (mango, pineapple juice, passion fruit) mingles with coconut, vanilla, fir needles, and strawberry on the nose. Full bodied and creamy, this smoothly bitter beer tastes of tangerine and fir, light brown sugar swirled with mango, and an intriguing vanilla-coconut note.

Food is what you’d expect in an establishment that leans toward craft (predominantly burgers and nachos, with a few local specialties), and all prepared to a high level. The sweet potato fries are crispy, and the mango mayonnaise is homemade — a nice touch.

PlanWirtschaft

PlanWirtschaft is a long-established Neustadt tavern serving classic Saxon dishes and a decent selection of Saxon beers. The name of this pub and eatery, which translates as “planned economy,” plays on its DDR roots. Near the entrance you’ll find display cases featuring cookbooks from the DDR era, old placards, and cookbooks dedicated to Soljanka. Soljanka, you ask? It’s a local specialty, a hearty tomato-based soup with zucchini, onions, sausage, and paprika.

Atmosphere-wise, PlanWirtschaft is a classic dimly lit student pub, but with an older clientele. It’s also a great place to sample local and regional beer alongside your order of Soljanka. Try the chestnut-coloured Dunkel from Brauerei Rechenberger, a brewery that has been plying its trade in the scenic Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) since 1558. Rechenberger’s Dunkel combines elements of Upper Bavaria (toasty dryness) with Bohemia (chocolatey richness), exuding a panoply of malt aromas ranging from coffee to chocolate and roasted nuts. Fresh and “steely” on the palate, a subtle but present roast note pervades it all, with trills of bitter chocolate, baking spice, and dried dark cherry in the background.

Clocking in at 6.1% ABV, the lush Schwarzer Specht (black woodpecker) from Brauerei Specht in the Ore Mountains is a Schwarzbier that walks and talks like a Bock. And it’s a malthead’s dream. Subtle baking spice (allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg) accents this malt extravaganza of Schwarzbrot (dense black bread), chocolate fig cake, dried Smyrna figs, milk chocolate, cocoa, and dried dark cherry. It tastes like a liquid gingerbread man. A highlight.

Bautzner Tor

You’ll feel like you’ve walked into your offbeat aunt’s living room in this Neustadt-area pub that cranks up the Ostalgie. Hardwood floors scuffed by the footsteps of countless visitors, tiffany lamps, old TVs, mint-green baseboard paneling topped by wallpapered walls, candlelight, eclectic décor (a mix of DDR-era placards and old beer placards from the region): the quirky Bautzner Tor feels part well-worn local watering hole, part period piece. The beer selection is modest but good, and mainly regional.

Since Saxony’s one of the regions where Schwarzbier is still alive and well, order the Eibauer Schwarzbier from Brauerei Eibau in the Oberlausitz (Upper Lusatia) region and let this perfectly nocturnal beer wash over you as you unwind from your long day. Light bodied and mildly effervescent, Eibau’s Schwarzbier is a fine example of a black beer that gives the lie to these beers being heavy. This ebony drink gives forth espresso with a touch of smoke, black cherry, walnuts, and an earthy note mingling licorice root with an herbal-cola character. It’s a bit like black coffee meets bitter chocolate — or like black cherry-inflected espresso meets smoky dark chocolate — and finishes crisp and clean, with a touch of walnut bitterness.

Neustädter Winterhütt’n

It was cold and drizzly the night I stopped by, but that didn’t stop people from pouring into this “winter garden” with its makeshift hut to shelter the more rain-averse from the elements. This Boho urban beer garden serves beers from Neustädter Hausbrauerei, a local organic brewery founded in 2013. The Bio-Helles was marred by DMS and diacetyl, but the Elbhang Rot, an Irish-style ale far from the Emerald Isle, was a pleasant form of redemption. Despite the sweet caramel and butterscotch on the nose, this smoothly bittered beer with toast and perfumed spice is well attenuated and quaffable.

Horst Vier Vogel Bar

Near the corner of Neustadt’s funkiest intersection, Horst Vier Vogel is a craft beer locale that serves its two core beers. The Pils is … unique. Aromas and flavours are strong on lemon curd, ginger ale, lemon tarte, short bread, and pie crust — not entirely typical for a Pils, to say the least. This beer’s not one for the ages, despite the rather epic origin story of the beer: four Germans — the four birds, or Vier Vogel — meet in Colombia and brew a hit beer that they eventually brewed in a repurposed washing machine in a university dorm before going pro.

At any rate, since it’s in the same general vicinity as other decent beer establishments, and since it’s one of the few truly local beer games in town, check it out. The space is cozy, even with the pantone grey wall and concrete floor. The exposed brick helps, as does the yellow-orange light cast by contemporary bulbs. The antics at the intersection get interesting once the sun goes down.

Big Local: Radeberger

One quick beer note in closing: As I mentioned at the outset, Radeberger is ubiquitous in Dresden. You could do much worse than find a spot at the Radeberger Spezial Ausschank built right into the embankment beneath the Brühlsche Terrasse. The sweeping view of the Elbe, of the Augustbrücke, and of the Dresdener Neustadt is sure to enhance the flavour of the beer.

Odds and Ends

For eateries that sell quick but satisfying bites to tide you over as you hop from one Neustadt drinking establishment to the next, stop off at Tokyo Gohan, a takeout window that sells amazing onigiri. Dampfschwein, a hole-in-the-wall eatery near PlanWirtschaft, specializes in all things pork in buns and burgers. The pork belly burger with BBQ sauce is succulent, and the perfect way to take the edge off of one too many beers.

For a complete change of pace, Böhme is a quiet culinary oasis in this otherwise vibrantly brash part of town. Candlelight flickering off the exposed brick walls and windows with a view to the comings and goings on the street set the stage for innovative food prepared with flair. The menu changes regularly, depending on what’s available from regional farms and dairies. The beer menu is small but the accent is on regional. Try the Landskron Pils: clean, crisp, bitter, precise. This Görlitz brewery founded in 1869 is snug up against the Polish border in the Lausitz region.

At the end of your long day, bunk down at the Boutique Hotel Rothenburger, a funky hotel that doesn’t come with a boutique price tag. The hotel is right in the heart of the Neustadt action. Rooms here resonate with the spirit of the neighbourhood. Each has its own unique touch, be that the colour scheme or off-the-wall art.

Sources

Various brewery websites, including Brauerei Rechenberg and Privatbrauerei Specht. Brauhaus Watzke’s general site lists which of their seasonals is currently on tap. The Watzke site specific to the brewery and historic ballroom location details the brewery’s history.

Frauenkirche, official website.

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All images by Franz D. Hofer.

© 2023 Franz D. Hofer and A Tempest in a Tankard. All rights reserved.

[1] Brauerei Radeberger got its start in in 1872 in the town of Radeberg near Dresden. It staked its brewing claim to fame with beers brewed exclusively in the Pilsner style. Fast forward to the early 1990s after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Binding brewery of  Frankfurt gobbled up the brewery in these formerly communist lands but retained the Radeberger name. The Oetker group, a German multinational food conglomerate that produces everything from baking powder and cake mixes to frozen pizza, purchased Radeberger in 2004 — again retaining the name. Today, the Radeberger Gruppe is Germany’s largest national beer conglomerate. It owns or has controlling interests in a number of brands and breweries, including Schöfferhofer, Allgäuer, Dortmunder Aktionsbrauerei (DAB), Sion (Kölsch), Clausthaler, and Braufactum.